I'll Be Home in Time for Dinner
by SarahNThatcher
Summary: Complete ... Doumyouji Tsukasa said he would follow Makino Tsukushi anywhere, but now he's going through heaven and hell just to get home for dinner. Please read and review.
1. Be Careful

Disclaimer: I don't own HYD or any of its characters

* * *

Doumyouji rolled over and his arm rubbed the warm skin of a young woman's back. Slowly she brought her arm across his smooth chest. "Ohayou." The words escaped before she covered his mouth with hers. They shared a passionate kiss that brought the young woman up from the bed, and before he knew what had happened she sat straddling his legs.

The phone rang. Doumyouji looked at the phone and then at the young woman sitting on top of him. She nibbled at his ear and whispered, "Tsukasa, don't answer it."

"What if it's important?" He said glancing back at the table.

"It never is." She said biting the nape of his neck.

"Tsukushi, I love you." He said as he brought the young woman in for a deep hug. "But I have to wake up now." With that he yawned as he let go of the pillow he had been bear clawing. Sleepily he reached for the phone and yawned again. "Doumyouji."

"HI DADDY!" The voice coming from the other side of the phone yelled.

"Good morning sweetheart." He said with another yawn.

"Daddy, Mommy said you were coming home today. Is that true?"

"Yes. Whose phone are you using?"

"Tsubaki-obasan's. She and Nicolette came to take me shopping."

"Where is your mommy?"

"She had to go to work."

"Where's your brother?"

The little girl on the line giggled and asked "Which one?"

He couldn't help but laugh, "Your big brother."

"He's in school, duh?"

"Well then it's time we get you in school huh?"

She let out another giggle, "Not yet Daddy." She started talking to someone beside her and when she came back to the phone she said her good byes and disconnected the line.

Doumyouji got out of bed and reopened his phone.

"Doumyouji," said the woman on the other line.

"Good morning Mrs. Doumyouji."

"Well good morning Mr. Doumyouji, how did you sleep?"

"I had good dreams." He smiled making it to the mirror, "how about you?"

"Can't complain. Your daughter misses you."

"Is she the only one?" He implied slyly.

"Of course not," she interjected sexily, "your sons miss you too." She giggled.

"Great." He rolled his eyes. "I'll be home for dinner, so don't cook I want to take you guys out tonight."

"Sounds good, I'll wrap things up early today. Love you."

"I love you Tsukushi." With that he jumped in the shower.

* * *

Doumyouji ran through his day. He rubbed his eyes and yawned as he finished his last meeting. He bowed slightly as the older men finished signing the contracts and started leaving the office. 

"I need a vacation." He complained to his mother who stood next to him collecting her papers.

"Married life has made you lazy."

"No, eight straight weeks of running around the world has made me tried."

"Whatever you say Tsukasa." She walked to the door. "Tell your family I said hello. Be careful getting to the hotel, it's raining."

"I'm flying home today."

"Well," she said searching for the words, "just be careful, you look exhausted. I'll see you at the office when you get back."

"Take care you old battleaxe." He called out to her as she batted her hand from the door.

* * *

The plane ride was only five hours long, but it seemed like an eternity. He shook his head as he got into the back of the town car. 

"Konnichiha, Doumyouji-sama." His chauffer greeted as he closed the door behind him.

"Take me home Takageru-kun I have a dinner date tonight."

The ride seemed longer that usual, but then again he was getting restless being away from his family so long. He kept staring at his watch, feeling as if the time was flying while he sat in the car. He could feel his eyelids getting heavy and almost fell asleep until the car hit a substantial pothole jolting him back to consciousness.

"What's taking so long?" He started irritably.

"Sorry sir, they have the highway is closed off." Takageru looked into the review mirror at his boss. Doumyouji folded his arms and leaned back into the seat, defenseless against traffic. Distracted by his employer's response Takageru didn't notice he had ran the red light bring the car into the path of a passing 18 wheeler.

* * *

Doumyouji stood beside the car as the flames danced over the wreckage. 

"H … Ho… How is this…?" His question trailed off.

"You have to get away from here." A little boy came running over to him, grabbing his hand, pulled the shocked man away from the burning lump that used to be a vehicle.

"Who are you?" He asked the little boy, who had started digging in his ear.

"Who're you?" The little boy asked back, still playing in his ear. He had short and spiky blonde hair. His blue eyes seemed dark and forlorn for some reason, and even though he was intent on finding something in his ear he looked bored.

"I'm Doumyouji Tsukasa."

"I'm not Doumyouji Tsukasa."

"So who are you?" He asked impatiently.

"Does it really matter?" The little boy asked irritated as sirens filled the air.

"No, I guess not." He watched as the little boy nodded his head and started to walk away. "Where are you going?" For no reason at all Doumyouji seemed intrigued by the little boy.

"I need to go see something, do you want to come with me." The little boy extended his hand, and without really thinking about it Doumyouji accepted the gesture and tagged along.

"What do you need to see here?" He looked around and he wasn't on the street corner anymore, but he was in a cemetery. "What could you possibly need to see in a graveyard?"

The little boy let go of his hand, ran to a woman and placed her hand in his. "I wanted to see who would miss you."

As Doumyouji came closer to the woman he could see that she wasn't alone, there were two other children standing by her side.

"Tsukushi?"

The little boy looked up at the beautiful woman whose face was dark and sullen. "She looks like she misses you a lot." He looked at the rest of the family. "They all do."

"What's going on?" Doumyouji asked looking at his wife and children dressed in black.

"Well I thought it was obvious." The little boy said walking back to the confused young man. "You're dead."


	2. I Wish I Was Never Born

Disclaimer: I don't own HYD or any of its characters

* * *

"I'M WHAT?" He yelled. 

"Dead."

"No!"

"Come on," the little boy brought his hand to his head, "I hate this part." He pulled Doumyouji's arm until he was eye level. "You saw the accident or the wreckage anyway. Your body was mangled beyond recognition. You are stone cold dead and burnt to a crisp."

"You little." Doumyouji swung at the little boy, but he vanished and reappeared behind him.

"I'm a lot less alive than you." The little boy said walking away. "Are you coming?"

"Who… are… you?" Doumyouji asked dumbfounded by the events taking place.

"I thought that we'd gone through this… it doesn't matter who I am." The little boy stopped and extended his arm again. "I'm just trying to get you to where you need to be."

"And where's that?"

"Questions, questions, questions. Can't you dead people ever just follow along?"

"No I can't just follow along. I have a dinner date with my family; I need to get back to them."

"I don't think that's gonna happen," he paused and smiled, "unless you know Whoopie Goldberg."

"I'm not a ghost and yes I know the comparison. Tsukushi has made me watch that movie like a million times."

"Yeah, yeah." The little boy waved behind him. "Let's go I don't have an entire afterlife."

* * *

The little boy stood next to a big staircase that extended past Doumyouji's line of sight. 

"What the hell is this?" He stood gawking at the gold and white entrance.

"Duh, it's the stairway to heaven?" The little boy looked at his companion as if he were retarded.

"I'm not going to heaven."

"Would you prefer the alternative?" As the words escaped his mouth a black and red elevator appeared with a ding beside them.

"OH HELL NO!" Doumyouji moved the little boy as a shield for the elevator. "What's your problem, I'm not dead."

"Ugh!" The little boy grunted. "What can I do to prove to you that you're dead?" He pulled out a gun and shot Doumyouji before he could react. "Did that hurt?"

"No." He said surprised that the bullet didn't even wound him.

"That's because you're DEAD." The little boy yelled.

"I've seen movies like this before." Doumyouji said walking away. "You can show me the darker part of my life. I'll become a better man and then I'll go back home to my family."

"I'm sorry, boss man, this isn't a movie. You were already a good man. You were a good father and a good husband, but these are just the cards that were dealt."

"So this is it?"

"Pretty much."

"There has to be someone else. You have to have a supervisor or something."

"I do," the little boy looked up, "but he's a little busy."

Doumyouji felt defeated, which was the second time today that he felt this foreign feeling. His heart hurt and he felt like the time Tsukushi had left him in the rain, but this time it was him that was leaving her. "I promised her." He whispered. "I promised I would never leave her again."

The little boy lowered his eyes at the heap of a man before him. He really hated his job, no one wanted to die. Suddenly it hit him. "That's it." He started and Doumyouji looked up at him expectantly. "Do you wish you were never born?"

"What?"

"Do you wish you were never born? Because if you do then you're not my problem, you're someone else's." He looked at his cohort and smiled with a wink.

"That's right." Doumyouji stood up. "I wish I were never born."

The little boy disappeared and a little girl stood next to him. "Why?"

He looked at the little girl next to him and smiled. She was beautiful. She had chestnut brown hair just like Tsukushi's but it was in pigtails that reached her shoulders. Her eyes were big and full of laughter and life; he could barely believe that she was a guide through death.

"Would you like to know what it would have been like if you were never born?"

"If that will bring me back to life, then I'll look at anything."

"If you're dead, you're dead. I can't change that." She looked down, almost as if she were going to cry. "I'm sorry if you thought that that was gonna happen."

"Then why…?" He stopped short.

"That was Michael, he was an arch angel a long time ago, but he got demoted after he started a war or something. Now he's a guide and he hates it, so he usually pawns unsuspecting hard cases on me." She turned around and opened a door that had appeared behind her.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Grace and I'm going to do this as fast as possible since you really don't want to see this." She grabbed his hand and tugged hard. "So keep up."

* * *

The room they stood in seemed familiar, like something from a distant memory. "Where are we?" He asked looking around. 

"This is your sister's room." Grace picked up a doll and stood cradling it as she started walking away.

They walked down the hallway and there at the grand piano sat a miniature Tsubaki playing a piece from Mozart.

"But she hated playing the piano."

"So did you, but you learned didn't you?"

"Yeah, but she never did, she played the harp instead."

"Since your mom didn't have you to worry about you she had nothing but time to make sure that the Doumyouji heir could play a respectable instrument. Without you that burden fell on your sister's shoulders."

"She was too strong willed to let our mother walk all over her."

The door opened and Doumyouji Kaede walked in. Tsubaki jumped off the piano chair and stood at attention.

"Ohayougozaimasu Okaasama."

"How long have you been practicing?" The woman asked without looking at her child.

"Three hours."

"It doesn't sound as if you've improved one bit." She walked over to the piano and on the platform sat a cup of tea and a few cookies. Without hesitating she swung her hand back and threw the petite child to the floor.

"That bitch." Tsukasa jumped as if he were going to charge at his mother. Grace held him back.

"How many times have I told you that you are not to eat in this room?"

Tsubaki grabbed her cheek as she fought the tears flowing from her eyes. "Too many times Okaasama."

"And these," she started as she threw the cookies at the child on the floor, "you don't need to be eating cookies you fat pig."

Tsukasa bit his bottom lip, his whole body brimming with rage. "I was there. She didn't judge Tsubaki because I was there. That's why my sister protected me the way she did, because she knew what it would have been like."

"The two of you shared her wrath, but without you she bore it alone."

* * *

Grace walked through another door and when Doumyouji had followed they stood in a western style living room. 

"Are you coming home tonight?"

Doumyouji spun around to see Tsubaki on the phone. Years had past and she looked old. Her once vibrant eyes seemed faded and lackluster. She had noticeably deeper wrinkles and her hair was up in a sloppy bun.

"But you promised to come home, the children miss you." She looked like she wanted to be shouting into the phone, but her voice remained placid.

"She looks so old." He was shocked to hear himself say it.

"A bad marriage will do that even to the most beautiful of women."

Doumyouji picked up a picture frame and examined its contents. "This isn't her husband."

"It is now. Since you weren't there to be the heir to the company Kaede had to make sure she bartered your sister off to the right man." She pointed to the man in the picture. "He was the head of some conglomerate travel something, and your mother needed his shareholdings."

"But if she's miserable why doesn't she leave?"

"Because she isn't the fiery woman that you grew up with. She's been battered and beaten down by your mother, years before she ever got married. To those who care to even look, like Tama and her children, she's just a shell. Not even breathing."

He grunted with dissatisfaction. "This would never happen, Tsubaki would never allow it."

"You don't have to believe it if you don't want to."

* * *

Grace walked away again and this time when he walked through the door he immediately recognized the bare white walls and the furniture deprived bedroom. "This is Rui's room." 

It didn't take long to find Rui sitting on the floor with his back against the wall. He had his legs brought up to his chest and a lost faraway stare in his eyes.

"What's wrong with him?"

"You never met him." Was her only reply.

"But okay, if I never met him then why aren't Akira and Sojiro here with him?"

"Because you never met them either." She looked at her escort and he looked as if his heart were broken looking at the shell of a man before him. "When Rui couldn't keep up socially in Eitoku Academy his parents hired tutors and home schooled him."

"But that's ridiculous, he had no social interaction."

"Yeah, but kids like Sojiro and Akira didn't pick on him anymore and his peers didn't openly call him a freak." She walked over to him and petted his hair. "Remember, you were the one that punched Sojiro in the face for calling Rui weird, without you to push past his defenses no ever even tried to get to know him."

"I don't want to be here anymore." He turned to walk away and Grace followed into the next room.

* * *

"Where are we?" He looked around at all of the books. 

"I know this seems alien to you, but this is the library in Eitoku." She pulled him down a few of the stacks until the stood face to face with Tsukushi and Kazuya.

"She was so beautiful then."

"Yes and she blended right into the background." Grace seemed bored with the sight.

"She's laughing." He watched as she happily studied with Kazuya stupidly trying to keep up. "She looks so peaceful."

"She was peaceful and happy until she met you. You were the one that brought heartache and confusion into her life. She was content being poor, but you and your friends were the ones that couldn't believe that poor people could be blissful too."

He looked down at his feet ashamed of what she told him.

"Without you and the F4 she wasn't a threat to anyone. No one picked on her or challenged her, because she was just another kid. She had her problems from time to time, but she scrapped by never stepping on anyone's toes and reverting back to her chameleon-like hiding skills when needed."

"So she would have been better off if I had never been born?"

"I never said that." She said pushing open the emergency doors. "I just said you made her high school life harder."

* * *

The next room was brighter than he could bare and he had to shield his face from the intensity of the light. 

Tsukushi lay on a bed half naked and crying. "Kill me." She whispered as a man was standing up from the bed.

"You know I can't do that." He said absently as he put his badge back on.

"You could help me." She whispered with tears flowing down he cheeks.

He looked over his shoulder at the woman on the bed, as he left the room he put a gun on the dresser on top of some money and mumbled an "Arigatou" as he walked out.

"What the hell is this?"

"Tsukushi might have been different, but her father wasn't. He still couldn't keep a job, he was still stupid, and he was still a disappointment to his family. That night when the thugs came to collect on their money Tsukushi didn't have anyone to borrow the money from. So when they killed her father, they took her as their payment."

Doumyouji let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Tsukushi…"

"They made her a prostitute because what could her mother do to stop them. She's been working off her father's debt with no chance of ever finishing. The interest keeps adding on and she has to pay them for room and board, but to them she's a real cash cow."

"Shut up!" At first it came out as a whisper.

Tsukushi got up from the bed and cocked the gun.

"She didn't finish school, so even if she gets away from these guys, which she won't, she's got nothing to offer the world."

"SHUT UP!" He yelled this time.

The loud sound of the gun going off shook Doumyouji's body, but the thump of her body hitting the floor made him look away.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" He pulled at the door but it remained locked. "I'M SICK OF THIS CRAZY MAKE BELIEVE WORLD." He started banging on the door, but he slowly slid down to the floor which was quickly being covered with blood. "I was a part of their lives. I was there to help her. She didn't turn out like this. She loves me. We have two beautiful children and one on the way. We ARE happy."

"No Doumyouji-sama," she laid her hand on his shoulder and opened the door, "you _were_ happy."


	3. No Such Thing as the Future

Disclaimer: I do not own HYD or any of its characters

**

* * *

A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone who has R x R. I love to here from ya'll.**

**As a reply to some of ya'll: Tsukasa is dreaming in the first few sentences about Tsukushi. He is in bed alone, but misses her even while he sleeps.**

**In Chapter 2 they aren't really flashbacks, but alternate possibilities of what could have happened if Tsukasa had never been born.**

**The last line of Chapter 2 means that they aren't happy anymore because no he's dead. Their marriage was great up until then.**

**And as for Hoshi Kouchu, shame on you.**

* * *

Grace stood in front of Doumyouji's limp body. Together they stood before the stairway where they had originally met.

"Now it's time to go."

"No." He demanded with his head still facing the floor.

"Please Doumyouji-sama; you don't have anything else to hold on to." She walked over to the staircase and tapped her fingers on the gold handrail.

"I have a lot to hold on to." He looked up at the child with tears in his eyes. "I was important to them. What will their lives be like without me in them? Show me the future."

"There is no such thing." The voice came from a young woman in her late teens. She looked like Grace but older and her hair wasn't in pigtails but in a ponytail. Her eyes held a deeper sense of maturity and wisdom that replaced the innocence in his former guide's eyes.

Doumyouji looked back at the staircase and Grace was gone. "Who are you?" He said looking back at the young woman behind him.

"I'm Mercy. I get the really difficult clients."

Mercy walked over to him and extended her hand. "What you're looking for doesn't really exist. There is no way to see the future because it hasn't been written yet."

"I can't let go. Not without knowing what's going to happen to them."

"Wishes are a funny thing, they seem so gratifying until they've been granted and then you wish that you'd never wished for it in the first place." She waved her hand in front of her and a blue and green elevator appeared.

"No, I'm not getting into that." He said backing away.

Mercy let out a slight chuckle before she entered the elevator. "Believe me," she started bemused, "this isn't the elevator to hell." She watched as he stepped in and faced outward, "but it sure will fell like it."

* * *

The elevator dinged and the door split apart to show an executive office. A young man in an expensive looking suit slaved over a desk full of charts and files. He had short wavy hair that was faded around the sides above his ears. He looked worn out and by the way he was choking back his coffee it was apparent that he had missed more than just a few days of sleep.

The door to his office slid open and an elderly form of Doumyouji Kaede marched in.

"God, this woman is never going to die is she?" Tsukasa gawked at his mother, who had to be at least seventy years old.

"She will eventually." Was Mercy's only answer.

"Riku, have you finished the reports I asked you for."

"I'm almost done grandmother." He never took his eyes off the paperwork, for fear of catching a glimpse of her cold and condemning eyes.

"Ugh," She grunted turning back to the door. "You're slower than your father used to be." She walked out the door and before it closed she turned on the back of her heal and added. "Make sure they are on my desk in fifteen minutes." With that the door slid closed.

"That's my son?" He looked at the young man's face and he had to have been at least twenty years old. Tsukasa's heart melted at the sight of his eldest son. "My son has turned into that bitch's errand boy. My son was not born to be a gopher."

"You're right." Mercy walked over to the desk and looked over the papers absently. "But that's what happens when your father isn't there to teach you how to have a backbone." She quickly lost interest in the boy's activities and turned her attention to the pictures on the mantel behind him.

Tsukasa followed and in the midst of the menagerie of frames was one picture of the four of them. Tsukasa lifted it from its place and lovingly fingered the sides. "This was my family. My beautiful wife and my two wonderful children." He put the frame down and looked over the others. "Even if I wasn't there, there has to be a picture of the three of them."

"The three of whom?" She asked glancing over the pictures as her partner frantically looked at each one. "Where are they? This is the last picture of the family. Tsukushi was pregnant, where is the picture of your little brother?" He questioned his undistracted son.

"Maybe I can shed some light on that." Mercy took Tsukasa's hand and led him out the sliding double doors.

* * *

The double doors led to a dark hallway in the mansion he had always called home. Doumyouji stood at the base of the stairs as he watched Tsukushi walk out of their daughter's room.

"After losing you she never really slept anymore. Always worrying that something might happen to the children. She would drive them to school by herself, and tuck them in bed herself, but always on guard."

He watched in horror as she missed a step coming down the flight of stairs leading to the foyer.

"TSUKUSHI!" His yell covered by hers as she went tumbling down the stairs.

He couldn't move as the lights flashed on and the maids came running out of almost every room to see what had happened.

"Someone call an ambulance." One of the maids yelled and a few of them ran off to get a phone.

Tsukasa could see the doors opening at the top of the stairs as little hands flung over the railing. "MOMMY."

"Take care of the children." The maid ordered. "They don't need to see this." And a few maids ran up the stairs to tend to the crying children awaiting them there.

"Does she die?"

"Not here," she paused, "but the baby did."

"Oh God, Tsukushi, I'm so sorry."

"For what?" Mercy asked walking away. "You didn't plan to die. In fact you've been fighting it since you found out."

"I promised her that I would never leave her."

"We all make promises we can't keep." She walked over to one of the doors.

* * *

The next room was light blue with white clouds bordering the top. It was a hospital's day room. There were patients walking around in their robes, some dragging around their IVs.

"Why are we here?" Doumyouji scanned the room for a familiar face but he didn't recognize anyone.

"Over there in the corner." Mercy pointed to woman looking out the window.

"No." Almost inaudible, a plea more than anything. He looked at the back of her head. Her long brown hair had been shaved short and it was covered in bald patches. He journeyed to the table where she sat alone her arms clutching her legs in front of her.

"No, Tsukushi, what happened to you? You were stronger than this."

"You never got a chance to see her in her low and weak times. When you first went back to New York and that senator's kid had to save her from some rapists, when your mother kidnapped you and you told her to go back to Japan. If Rui hadn't been there she probably would have never made it back home." Mercy took a seat next to his wife and laid her head in her hands. "No matter how strong she seemed it was always because you were there to cheer her on or at least she had the hope of you cheering her on."

"She wasn't weak like that."

"I don't make the news, I just report it." She sighed deeply and continued. "After losing you and the baby she just couldn't cope. It started with her pulling out her hair and then she started forgetting things. To pick up the children, whether she had eaten or not, where she was or where she was going. She slowly started to lose her mind."

Tsukasa fought back the tears that had started to pour over his face.

"One day your daughter came home and Tsukushi was lying in a puddle of her own blood."

Tsukasa turned over her wrists and there was a scar with stitch marks as evidence that she had given up. "No. She wouldn't. She couldn't leave the children."

"I don't know why she did it, because she didn't leave a note, but she's been here ever since. In this catatonic state, staring at the walls or the windows, whatever they point her at."

Mercy got up and started walking towards the door.

"Can't we just stay here a little longer?"

"Why?" She stopped but didn't turn around. "This isn't a visit. There's nothing you can do to connect to her, you're dead and these are only pictures."

"I want to stay with her."

"Then haunt her, but you can't stay here. I told you this wasn't a good idea. You're way too attached to her to move on." She continued walking to the door.

"I said I want to stay."

"I said you're coming with me." She spun around and when she made eye contact with him he appeared next to her.

"How… did…?"

"I told you this isn't real Doumyouji-sama. These are just pictures of thing that might happen. Again, the future is not yet written and there are limitless paths that someone could take. This is just the most likely path."

"Then why not show me the happier path. The one that will make it easier for me to let go."

"I don't get to pick and choose the future, like I said I only report the news."

"So this doesn't bother you?"

"What?"

"This," he said scanning the room. "It doesn't bother you that these are good people. My wife my kids don't they deserve a better life than this?"

"One, I don't have any control over their life, for the hundredth time, and two, no it doesn't bother me because fate doesn't care about good and bad." Mercy walked over to one of the men sitting by the fish tank. "Does it matter that this man used to be a pediatrician? Do you care that he was a great man who saved thousands of lives before he was shot in the head by some jerk that wanted the fifty bucks he had in his wallet."

"Then why let things like this happen to good people?"

"You aren't seeing the big picture. Everybody suffers: thieves, rapists, doctors, mothers, businessmen. It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done; when the bullet has your name on it, it just does."

"What about my daughter?"

"Tamari is the only one that lives happy ever after with the great husband, the great kids and the dog in the backyard." She lied.

"I want to see it."

"No, you've wasted enough of my time."

"I WANT TO SEE IT." He looked straight through her because he could tell she was trying to cover up something.

"Please Doumyouji-sama, just let it go. This is not the path that your family has to take. They can have happy lives."

"It's not your job to pick and choose what I see. Just show it to me."

"As you wish, but remember you've been warned."

* * *

Mercy stepped through the door and it led into a very beautiful parlor. On one of the bar stools a young woman, about eighteen, sat mixing her drink. She had curly black hair which she styled at shoulder length. She wore in a short black cocktail dress that was sheer at the shoulders. Her eyes which were caked with make up seemed annoyed if not poignant.

"Is that what you're wearing tonight?" Doumyouji spun around to see that the voice belonged to an older gentleman in his mid- to late forties.

"I know him," Doumyouji recalled. "That's Charles London. He's been competing with Doumyouji Corp for almost every contract this year."

"I don't see a problem with it." The young lady answered.

"Of course you don't." Charles interjected sarcastically as he made his way to the bar. "Drinking already I see."

"I've only had two or six. I'm still working on making you handsome."

That little shot earned her a slap in the face.

Doumyouji tensed as he balled his fist.

"Your grandmother told me that you needed a little taming, and don't you worry I'm the perfect man for the job."

"That bitch married my daughter off to this jackass?"

"She needed a bargaining chip. After you died London went crazy with his competitive nature blowing all of Doumyouji Corp's offers out of the water. The offers were so low your mother couldn't even hardball them. She was losing more contracts than she was winning, so she did what she had to, to keep the company in the black."

"She sold my daughter for a quick fix to an ongoing problem."

"Go upstairs and change." Charles pushed her and she stumbled out of the seat.

"No." Tamari shot back. "You don't tell me what to do."

"Listen sweetheart," He said placing his hands on her chin. "I _can_ go to this event by myself if you don't want to go, but if I do I'll make sure you have a good reason to miss it."

"If you lay one hand on me I'll…" She started shaking.

"You'll what? Call the cops. I OWN the cops. Tell your grandmother. I'm a few steps from shutting your families business down for good anyway." He grabbed her shoulder and she noticeably winced in pain. "You're running out of options here love." He threw her towards the steps. "Go get changed."

Without fighting anymore she stalked up the stairs to her bedroom. She pulled out a longer sleeveless red dress and the shoes and clutch to match. As she changed Doumyouji watched his daughter in the mirror. She had bruises of every shape, size and color covering her body. As she slipped on the dress she walked over to the vanity.

"He beats the shit out of her."

"He meant what he said." Mercy said taking a seat next to his daughter at the vanity. "It's usually worse, but he restrained himself this week, knowing about the party."

"I've seen enough." Doumyouji turned for the door.

"But you're gonna miss the best part." She said pointing over to the battered young woman. "This is the part where she drinks the bottle of sleeping pills with the Grey Goose chaser."

"I think you've had enough fun at my family's expense."

"You think this was fun." Mercy got up and headed toward the closet. "I've wanted to kill myself since I met you."

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A/N: Please continue reading and reviewing. I love hearing from ya'll.**


	4. The Delivery Guy

Disclaimer: I don't own HYD or any of it's characters.

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A/N : I want to thank all of you who have read this story. I think you are all awesome. Those who have reviewed are like extra splendiferously spectaculaker. _I have not given up on Almost Perfect, for any one who cares. I've just been thinking about other things, I'm so sorry. I will try to update no later than the 2/20/07._ I will also be ending this story by then. I only plan on having no more than two more chapters maybe less than that. **Thank you again for all of your wonderful reviews.** Please keep on reading.

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Mercy dejectedly lifted herself from the vanity and found her place by Doumyouji's side. He had made it to the door and he stood with his head hung and his hand on the knob. "What are you waiting for?" She challenged with her hands folded in front of her. 

"I don't want to see what's on the other side." He said almost in a whisper as he stared at the shinny gold handle in his hand.

"You know you could give all this up already. You can accept your fate and take your rightful place in heaven."

"I had heaven." He dropped his hand. "Heaven was being with her."

Mercy rolled her eyes behind him. "Too bad…" She started, but stopped when she heard her watch beeping. "Thank God."

"What is that?" He looked up to question, his defeated posture melting away.

"It's my cue that I'm needed elsewhere and that you're not my responsibility anymore." With that she took a step back and the blue and green elevator appeared behind her. She backed in a chose her destination.

Before Doumyouji could follow her, the doors slammed shut and he stood glaring into nothing. Everything was gone and as far as his eyes could see everything was white. "What the…" was all he could say to his current predicament.

"Kumh." He spun around to see a young man in his early twenties clearing his throat. The young man wore a red and white striped shirt, a dirty baseball cap backwards on top of his dirty and greasy looking blonde hair, and a pair of faded holey jeans.

"Now who the hell are you?" He demanded.

"My name is Moe."

"And so what do you get the really hard sells?" Doumyouji was sick of these "angels" or whatever they were changing so often.

"No." He paused looking for the right way to put it. "I'm more of a delivery guy."

Doumyouji didn't have anything to say to that, he did look the part anyway.

"Come on dude, I got other things to do today." Moe started towards the white abyss humming a familiar tune, even if Doumyouji couldn't put his finger on it.

"Where are we going?" Doumyouji asked following his newest guide.

Moe didn't answer. He just kept walking which irritated his fellow traveler. They walked side by side in silence until Doumyouji could see a small red bridge in the distance.

"Is that where you're taking me?"

"Dude, we'll worry about the bridge when we come to it," was Moe's only answer.

This stoner delivery guy was really starting to piss Doumyouji off. They continued towards the bridge and a man came into view.

"Who's he?"

"Dude, why do you care? He's a fisher guy just minding his business. Why do you ask so many questions?" Moe seemed just as ticked off as Doumyouji.

'What the hell is he mad about? I'm the one that's being pulled around blindly.' He thought looking at the teenager strolling along beside him.

Moe finally ended their trek in front of a pond filled with koi. The little fish swam around with thin strings connecting each fish to a picture.

"What's this?" Doumyouji asked unsure he would even get a response.

"Do you know about the river Styx?" Moe stopped waiting for answer, but when he looked at Doumyouji's face and saw the lost look in his eyes he knew he didn't have to wait long.

"In ancient Greece the people believed that there were stings of life that weaved into the tapestry of time itself and if that sting were to be cut that that person's life was over. They also believed that each soul passed on into the river Styx."

'So what?" Doumyouji arrogantly dismissed the information as he squatted to get a better look at the fishes.

"Well, they weren't that far off. In fact they were on the right track." Moe joined his companion next to the pond's surface. "Dude, check out the pictures attached to each fish."

Doumyouji's face brightened as he noticed the photographs moving underneath the surface of the clear blue water. "But how? This is like something out of those Henry Hunter movies."

"Dude, you mean Harry Potter?"

"Whatever." Doumyouji swatted away his mistake.

"They're memories. Those that are gone don't need them, so when people have past on the memories get fished out. That's what he does." Moe said as he pointed to the lonely fisherman on the little red bridge.

"But that's impossible."

"Not really. Do you see that big black fish eating all of the koi over there. All that that dude has to do is catch that big fish. Every time someone dies a big fish comes to eat their memories."

"But what happens to them?"

"Nothing they just move on. You don't need to worry about something you don't need anyway."

Doumyouji leaned closer and he saw a picture go by of Tsukushi wearing a white kimono with light pink orchids lining the bottom. "That's…" He trailed off.

"You can touch it." He instructed. "Your memories are still swimming along out there. You haven't passed on yet."

Doumyouji reached toward the surface and a group of koi came rushing to the top to greet his hand, each one eager to be touched and remembered. He hesitantly placed a finger on one of their heads and the wave of energy the flowed from the memory made him close his eyes.

"D-U-D-E!" Was all the Moe could say.

When Doumyouji opened his eyes it was just before sunset and he was standing in a courtyard with the Sakura blossoms in full bloom scattering everywhere. He knew this location all too well, which made him sigh.

"This is like … so beautiful man." Moe choked out.

"Yeah." Doumyouji looked under one of the trees and laying there watching the sunset was a younger version of him and his wife. She lay with her head on his chest and her fingers locked in his. He sat there and watched that sunset for the second time and it was more beautiful than it had been all those years before. "This is where I asked her to marry me."

"Dude, with a backdrop like this how could she tell you no?"

"I see her like this and it reminds me of how desperate I felt to be with her. I moved heaven and earth to be with her before and I'm not going to just take this sitting down." Doumyouji took Moe's striped collar and pulled him dangerously close to his face. "What do I have to do to go back?"

"Go back where?"

"Back to my life. To my wife and kids." He loosened his grip on Moe's shirt. "I can't die here. I have to go back to my life." The desperation in his voice scared even him, but he could mask it anymore. This wasn't going to work. If he had to spend even another minute without Tsukushi, it wouldn't matter if he went to heaven or hell because either one would be torture without her.

Moe heard sob stories like this on a regular basis. Granted most people didn't complain about being dead, but those that did always had a million reasons why they wanted to live. He looked at Doumyouji's pleading eyes and it struck a cord in his heart. "I understand how you feel. Many others, not unlike yourself, have had the same hesitation about dying."

"I'm not hesitant about dying, I'm not afraid. I just want to be back with my wife and children."

"Really, so if you miss your kids so much what are their names?"

"That's stupid. Their names are…" Doumyouji fought to remember. He wracked his brain for those names. He couldn't even place faces on them. The harder he tried to remember the more he forgot. Were they boys or girls? Did he have one or two?

"What happened? I thought you were desperate to see them?" Moe put his hand on the young man's shoulder.

"I am! What are you doing to me?" Doumyouji pulled his arm away from this guide's grasp.

"I'm not doing anything to you. It's just my job to take you where you nee to go. It's also my job to make sure that you have no unfinished business when you get there."

"Unfinished business?"

"Yeah I need to make sure your heart is pure and ready to accept your fate."

Doumyouji didn't know why, but he didn't like how that sounded. "Why would I be questioning my fate?" His heart was racing and he could just feel like he was missing something, but he didn't know what it was. He started to think really hard about what they had been talking about, but he couldn't remember. He brought his hands threw his curly black hair and still no clue what he'd been so worked up about. His attention fell upon the young man standing in front of him now. He looked at him quizzically and the young man smiled as the words left Doumyouji's mouth. "**Who are you?**"

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Another A/N: Please tell me who you liked this chapter. Did you like Moe? Did you feel like it flowed or do you think it was mostly filler or was it boring or was it a combination of it all? I need to know. Thank you** R&R**


	5. Back at One

Disclaimer: I do not own HYD or any of its characters or Back at One preformed by Brian McKinght.

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Moe had done his job and before they knew it Doumyouji found himself a little confused, but happily walking up the stairway to heaven. Each step seemed like a journey in itself. It was curios, he thought, that it would be so much work to get to eternal bliss and so easy to drop to damnation, an elevator or the stairs? 'Remind me to walk,' he mused. 

Step by step he climbed to his final destination, happiness. He closed his eyes and a quick flash of a face graced his memory for a second. He tried to close his eyes and concentrate on the face but he couldn't remember if it was male or female. Ignoring the momentary train of thought he continued his ascent only to trip on the next step. His arms flew in front of him to brace his fall and as he lingered on the steps on all fours the same face flashed through his mind.

"What the hell?" He took a seat on the steps and tried to recollect his composure. He sat there a few minutes with his hand to his head. "What's going on?" He closed his eyes again and was greeted by the same results as before, darkness. "What am I trying to remember?"

Doumyouji got up when he felt better and continued up the white and gold staircase. The climb seemed endless and his mind started to wander. First he started to think about colors. Blue, green, yellow…a flash of a girl in a yellow blazer invaded his thoughts. 'What?' Gray, black, brown…another glimpse of the girl with big brown eyes and long flat brown hair sat in front of him with bandages on her face and hands.

That memory stopped him in his tracks. His heart felt as heavy as lead in his chest and he didn't know why. Instinctively his hand grabbed for the pain but there was no relief. "Who are you?" He asked, but he received no response.

He fought against the void in his mind. There were answers in his head; he just needed to find them. One, two three, four… three young men sat on the grass. Two of them seemed involved in a conversation laughing with one another and the other seemed bored, almost lonely, sitting by himself. "Who are you people? Get out of my head!" He yelled grabbing at his hair.

"I hate your stupidity. I hate your weird hair. I hate how you strut around campus in regular clothes. I hate your arrogance. I hate your snake-like eyes. I hate everything about you."

The voice sounded like it was coming from behind him, so he spun around only to be greeted by more stairs. 'I'm going crazy.' He hung his head and started up the stairs again. Fall, spring, summer, winter…the snow stung his face as he search frantically. 'What am I looking for?' He thought. A red light shone through the snow grabbing his attention. Quickly he fell to the ground digging to uncover the light only to find a leg. His heart was beating out of his chest, but he ignored it because a feeling of anxiety had replaced the doubt in his mind.

He didn't know who was under the drift of snow, but he knew he cared for her more than anything in the world. 'Why do I feel like I love her?' He started CPR on the lifeless girl under him and didn't know why. His chest burned with fear that he was too late. His hands moved on their own, and when she began to cough he felt the weight of the world roll off his shoulders only to be replaced by an obligation to protect her and get her to safety.

Doumyouji shook his head and made a mad dash up the stairs towards the light that crowned over the eventual landing. He ran jumping two and three steps at a time trying to get away from his memories. He couldn't remember who they were, but he could feel his heart filling with doubt.

_It's undeniable that we should be together._

_It's unbelievable how I used to say that I thought never._

_The basis you need to know if you don't know just how I feel,_

_then let me show you now that I'm for real._

_If all things in time, time will reveal. Yeah _

Doumyouji stood in front of a naked girl. The young lady's light kimono lay on the ground by her feet and she was spouting something about wanting him to want her, but all he could think about was the girl with the big brown eyes. Why had she been in the café with that guy? What were they doing now that he was in this room with this girl? A part of him wanted to go storming down the hall to where those two were and find out the answers to these questions, but how could he? He felt his duty to this girl, but he definitely didn't feel any love?

"I can't love you." As he heard the sound of the words flowing out of his mouth he could feel the sharpness of their meaning. He didn't remember why, but even though he felt bad for hurting this girl before him, his heart yearned to be with the girl down the hall.

_One, you're like a dream come true._

_Two, just wanna be with you._

_Three, girl it's plain to see that you're the only one for me and,_

_Four repeat steps one thru three._

_Five, make you fall in love with me._

_If ever I believe my work is done, then I'll start back at one. Yeah_

When the initial shock of her standing in his hallway wearing a maid's uniform had worn off he realized that having her under his roof could be beneficial to them getting another chance at a normal relationship. He had a special piece of jewelry made just for her and he went out and got one of the best telescopes in the country just to show her how much she meant to him. He loved her more than life itself, and even though she hadn't returned his affections he didn't let it detour him from his initial plan because he knew that they were meant to be together.

_So incredible, the way things work themselves out._

_And all emotional, once you know what it's all about yeah._

_And undesirable for us to be apart, never would've made it very far,_

'_cause you know you've got the keys to my heart. 'Cause…_

Doumyouji ran as fast as he could and he could feel his chest burning, whether it was from the lack of oxygen or the fear of loosing her he didn't know, all he knew was that he had to catch up to that bus. All of a sudden he felt the ground missing under his feet and within seconds had tumbled down to the ground. He cursed his feet, his life and himself for not getting to her sooner, for not keeping up with her, and for letting her walk out of his like at all. He watched as the children made faces at him as they passed his motionless shell sitting on the ground. Unable to cry, unable to think or just overwhelmed by fatigue he couldn't help but stare off past the children in the direction the bus had gone. He barely had time to recognize the figure running toward him before he released a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. There she stood in all her penniless glory. The hardest woman in the world to live with, but the only one he never wanted to be without.

_One, you're like a dream come true._

_Two, just wanna be with you._

_Three, girl it's plain to see that you're the only one for me and,_

_Four repeat steps one thru three._

_Five, make you fall in love with me._

_If ever I believe my work is done, then I'll start back at one. Yeah_

Alone he stood by the window aimlessly staring into the gardens that bordered his Long Island home. How long was she planning to keep him locked in this room without any human interaction outside of the one maid that came in and out to bring him his food? He listened as a knock came at the door. Slowly he heard the key turn unlocking his prison. It wasn't too much longer before his warden stepped in with a rather grim look on her face. "You do understand why you're here, right?" She began in her dry and cold voice. He shrugged trying to ignore her. "Tsukasa, you are the heir of this corporation, and as that heir it is your responsibility to prepare yourself for that step in your life." She moved over to the window and followed his line of sight. "I have decided that if you do everything that I ask, if you stay here for four years and learn all that is expected of you, then I will allow you to do as you wish about this &$# thing."

That caught his attention. He could see the distain in her eyes at having to compromise, but it was something that he could do. He could get through four years. He could do anything to be with her. "I accept." He said giving her his full attention.

"Good." She sighed as she walked toward the only other exit. "Because she's here now in the study, and if you want be to keep my end of the deal you'll make her go away." He didn't believe her at first, what would she be doing here? Now? He ran to as fast as he could down the hall, almost jumping the stairs in one leap, to the study that held his beloved. He straightened his clothes and walked into the room with an expression that could freeze magma. "What are you doing here?" He said, his tone frightening even himself. He couldn't believe he could be so rude to her when all he wanted was to pull her into his arms and hug her as hard as possible. How his lips yearned to meet hers. His fingers wishing they could dance over her pale skin.

But as fast as the conversation had started, it was ended and he was leaving to get her a car to drive her to the airport. He closed the door behind him and rested his back against it. 'I should just grab her and run away. We can be together without this bitch's consent.' But, that was no way to live. If the old hag had conceded to letting them get married after four years, then he could wait four years. He had given his word as a man.

_Say farewell to the dark night, I see the coming of the sun._

_I feel like a little child whose life has just begun._

_You came and breathed new life into this lonely heart of mine._

_You threw out the life line just in the nick of time._

Doumyouji sat surrounded by his friends when the girl with the brown eyes came marching up to him. She gave him a bag with a few things in it. He didn't recognize any of it, a ball, a teddy bear, and a necklace. Baffled he looked up at her and asked why she was giving it to him and she got frustrated. No, angry. Angry enough to throw the baseball as hard as she could hurling it towards his head.

_One, you're like a dream come true._

_Two, just wanna be with you._

_Three, girl it's plain to see that you're the only one for me and,_

_Four repeat steps one thru three._

_Five, make you fall in love with me._

_If ever I believe my work is done, then I'll start back at one._

"Tsukushi." Doumyouji stopped at the top of the stairs. 'How could I have forgotten her twice in one lifetime?' He made his way to the large golden gates to the man standing in front of them with a little book.

"Mr. Doumyouji." He smiled brightly closing his book. "I've heard that you had quite an adventure coming here."

"I'm sorry I wasted your time." He paused. "But I won't be able to stay."

The little man didn't seem taking aback, instead he nodded his head and walked over to Doumyouji with his hand out. "I didn't expect you to."

"What?"

"Don't get me wrong, you are dead and you do belong in heaven, but you are an extremely rare case." He put his hand on Doumyouji's shoulder and ushered him into a small door on the side of the gate. "I don't know why, but Kami likes you. He likes both of you."

"God loves all his creatures." He rolled his eyes.

"You're correct." The little man stood before yet another door. This one was ten times bigger than the gates were. Doumyouji imagined himself standing on his own shoulders, and he would still need nine or ten more to touch the top of the door. "But he doesn't **like** all of his creatures."

The guardian of the gate pushed one of the doors open with his stubby arms and guided Doumyouji inside. "You deserve to be happy, you've earned that in the past few years, but you have a few dark moments in your life that are still haunting your soul." He reached for the door knob and paused. "You want to get back to Tsukushi, right?" The man peered into his eyes searching his heart.

"More than anything." He said, confidence unwavering.

"Good. Then you'll have no problem facing and destroying this demon, to take your rightful place beside her." The man opened the door and pushed Doumyouji into the black room.

The door was closed behind him enveloping him with darkness. He could hear the sound of something moving around in the shadows. Silence, followed by footsteps, leading to a clatter and an angry grumble filling the room only serving to make Doumyouji's heart start beating faster.

"Who are you?" A male voice brimming with annoyance finally broke threw heart pounding sound in Doumyouji's head.

"I'm Doumyouji Tsukasa." His voice was full of pride, even if he felt a little apprehensive about the situation. He was never one to be afraid of any challenge, but a demon was a demon and he didn't know what type of danger he would be facing.

His announcement earned a 'tsk' from the voice in the eerie dark. Doumyouji blinked as a blinding light took over. When his eyes had adjusted to the brightness Doumyouji stood face to face with a younger red eyed version of himself.

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**_A/N: Tsukasa's battle with death is finally coming to a head and in the next chapter we see if he has what it takes to defeat the demon he called himself. Thank you for reading the final chapter is almost here. Yay! Please review!_**

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	6. The End

Disclaimer - I still don't own HYD or any of its characters. God stop hounding me, you're worse than the IRS.

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A/N – This is the final chapter. Thank you for reading this far. I hope you've enjoyed this journey as much as I've enjoyed writing it.**_

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"What the…?" They said in unison at the sight.

"What are you?" The red eyed young man started to get angrier with each passing second. When he was answered with silence he continued to get annoyed. "Are you deaf?" He walked closer to his bewildered counterpart and balled his fist.

Doumyouji barely dodged the attack and slow inched backward as the other young man continued his assault. "Calm down, kid." Was all he could muster and as the words escaped his lips, he realized that that would have made him mad as a teenager. He was unable to dodge the next punch causing warm and wet feeling started to pour over the corner of his lip, he soon realized he was bleeding. 'You little punk.' He thought as he blocked and dodged a few more swings until he finally connected with a blow to the left eye causing his irate clone to falter and stumble off balance.

"You're going to die old man; nobody hits the real Doumyouji Tsukasa and lives." The young man threw his whole body weight at the older version and was arm dragged to the floor by the latter. On the floor he scrambled to his feet only to be pushed back to the floor.

"You can't win against me." He stood towering over the lump on the floor. "I know the counters to your best moves. I have years of experience using those same fists to prey on the defenseless and the weak, because everyone is weaker than me." He listened to the words that were coming out of his mouth and couldn't believe how childish and stupid they sounded. This was his battle. He had been a brat and a violent idiot, and in some ways he still was.

He reached out and offered a hand to his twin, who sat almost pouting on the floor. The young man batted away the hand and shot up to his feet, a very pompous look on his face. "I don't need your help." He scoffed as he turned his head away from the man before him.

'I never knew I looked so stupid.' Doumyouji inwardly groaned. He looked at the 'kid' before him and almost laughed in disgust. He couldn't believe how childish he had been. How aggressive and ill-tempered he could be for the most ridiculous reasons. This had to be the demon he had to face. What else could it be? He looked at himself in wonder. The only thing that had defused this ticking time bomb was Tsukushi, and she wasn't an option, so how was he going to defeat the raging dragon?

"Ugh, I don't even care anymore." The sudden outburst from his body double woke him from his battle plan. The younger model walked away and took a seat on a chair in the corner by a fireplace that hadn't been there before. Come to think of it, Doumyouji thought, neither had the chair. He looked around and none of the furniture in the room had been there moments ago.

"What's going on here?" He said out loud to no one in particular.

"Stop talking, you're ruining the silence."

Doumyouji almost jumped out of his skin. "Who the hell are you to tell me to shut up?" He yelled without noticing. "No one was talking to you."

Calmly the young man by the fire raised his feet and set them on an ataman. "I'm Doumyouji Tsukasa and as long as you speak in my presence you are wasting my silence. If you can't shut up, leave."

It took all of his control to not walk over to the fireplace and throw the pretentious bastard in. _Into the flames_. The thought got the gears in his brain moving. He was in heaven, so the fireplace represented hell. He paused in thought nodding his head.

The young man stared in wonder.

_The 'kid' was sitting by the fire because he's on his way to hell if he keeps on the same path_, _but I had already been on the path to heaven, probably because of Tsukushi_. _The little angel guy had said that if I could defeat the demon, then I could go back to my wife_. He played around with the different facts in his head, but why do you need to defeat a demon that doesn't exist anymore. He wasn't like that anymore. He was a well adjusted, rational, law abiding member of society now. _I…I…I…what was I saying?_

The sound of whistling broke his train of thought. "SHUT THE HELL UP!" He yelled toward the young man who sat twiddling his thumbs and whistling an upbeat and happy tune. He stopped and rolled his red eyes as he walked over to the piano and started playing the same tune.

Doumyouji was just about to yell again when he recognized the song. It was the song that Tsukushi used to hum when she did chores around her house or when she was bored and he was busy. It had never bothered him when she did it, but coming from his younger self, he didn't even think twice about getting mad.

_That's how I used to be, punch first ask questions later. All this time I've been standing here pointing a finger at him, when I really haven't changed all that much. Maybe I am still very impulsive? Maybe I am too quick to judgment? Maybe I haven't grown up as much as I thought I have? Maybe I'm the demon I'm supposed to defeat?_

The master pianist stopped playing and looked up at his counterpart. "Maybe…" he paused, "it's not maybe." With that he disappeared and reappeared next to his older twin. _THWACK! _All he could feel was the pain on the side of the head where the young man had hit him. He started to shake his head to try and make some of the pain go away when he felt little hands pulling at his arm.

"Come on." A little voice came from beside him. "What are you doing? Move already."

Doumyouji turned his head slightly and the huge pain on the side of his head subsided a little as he peered into deep brown pools of chocolate.

"Daddy pleeeeeaaaaasssssseee!" She whined while pulling him harder. "I'm soooooo hungry."

He reached a hand out to pet the curly black hair that played just off her shoulders. "Tamari?" He could barely believe his eyes; it had felt like an eternity since he saw her cute little face and playful little smile.

"Daddy…" she paused looking deep into his eyes. " I… need… food!" She said jumping on every word.

"Okay, okay." He threw his legs out of the car. He looked over to the driver's seat and there sat Takageru reading a set of papers. "Goodnight." He said almost expecting not to get an answer from the driver, but he put his papers down and responded with a huge smile on his face.

Doumyouji reached under the child's arms and pulled her into an embrace. "I missed you too Daddy." She hugged his neck tightly. She pulled herself away keeping his head at arms length. "Now can we go eat?"

They had almost made it to the door when it flung open and a little boy with a red baseball cap came running out the door and past his father. "Mommy said to tie Barker up in the backyard." He dashed to the back of the two-story home with a golden retriever in hot pursuit.

"Riku?" He almost didn't recognize the four foot blur and the blonde streak rushing past him.

"Can we have pizza?" The youngster in his arms noticed that her father was still looking in the direction that the other child had run and she pulled his face to meet hers. "Can I have ice cream?"

"Huh?" He asked still a bit dazed.

"Can I have ice cream?" She repeated with more emphasis.

"Only if you finish all of your food."

Doumyouji looked up to face the voice that was coming from the front door. There stood the object of his affections. The reason he fought off heaven to remain on earth. Here was his eternal peace. "Tsukushi?" He put his daughter down and watched as a smile played across his wife's lips. As he climbed the steps to meet her she eyed him suspiciously. "Oh, God I've missed you." He said as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"Tsukasa the baby." She said pounding on his shoulder making him loosen his grip but not let go.

"I love you." He said putting her down and holding her shoulders at arms length.

"I know." She said putting her hands on his cheeks. "I love you too."

He hugged her again and kissed her deeply until he heard coughing beside him. He released his hold on his angel only to see the miniature one on the ground holding her stomach.

"I've died from hunger." She started moaning. "But don't worry about me I lived a good life."

Her little act won her a tickle from her father, who picked her up by her waist and toss her onto his shoulder. "A Doumyouji never leaves anyone behind, right honey?"

"Well…" She said turning towards the house, "In her case we can make an exception."

The four foot flash ran past his parents and up the stairs to the second floor. "Riku, take off your shoes." Tsukushi yelled up to the busy little boy.

"Let him have as much fun as he can while he's young." The memory of seeing his son slaving away behind the computer came back to haunt him. His wife just shrugged at the comment and pulled Tamari off of his shoulder and told her to get ready for dinner. Doumyouji placed his keys on the table and noticed a set of framed pictures lining the walls.

"What are these?" He stared at the photos not remembering any of them.

"These are the pictures from our last trip back to New York. Remember you had that business luncheon and I told you I took the kids to Central Park." She pointed to a picture that had a little girl with big happy brown eyes and chestnut brown pigtails that reached her shoulders holding hands with Tamari. "Grace?" He whispered in realization. He looked up to notice a picture of Tsukushi sitting on a park bench with a young lady that looked a lot like his wife, but her brown hair was in a ponytail and her eyes weren't as brown. "Mercy."

"I don't remember telling you that." He looked at his wife, who as looking at him, and searched the pictures for other familiar faces. He found a picture with a young man kneeling down with his arm around Riku's shoulder, while Riku had his arm around another little boy's shoulder. The youngster had spiky blonde hair and deep blue eyes. The young man had a dirty red hat backwards on his greasy blonde hair. "Michael and Moe." He pointed to the photo with his mouth open in shock and slowly backed away from the menagerie of frames.

"You mean Moses?" Tsukushi said rolling her eyes. "Tsukasa what's your problem today?"

He looked at the pictures, then at his wife, back to the pictures, only to hang his head and sigh, "I've had a long day."

"Do you want to stay in?"

"You know…" He started softly. "Oddly I don't want to go anywhere anymore."

Tsukushi smiled and laughed lightly. "You know neither do I. How does pizza sound?"

"As long as I'm sharing it with you, it sounds just fine."

"Ugh." She made a face at him. "You're so cheesy."

"Is that so?" He began to close the gap between them. "You don't even know what I went through to come home to you."

"You're right." She said wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm sure the whole trip was an ordeal."

"You know I'm a better man because of you?" He rested his head on her shoulder. "If it wasn't for you I think I might have turned into some kind of demon."

She pressed her cheek to his and he met her eye to eye. "You know I'm nothing without you." She smiled softly and his heart melted the same way it always did when she looked at him so genuinely. "You keep me sane, even if you do drive me crazy."

"Mommy we're hungry." They heard loud voices yell from the second floor.

"Better order those pizzas, the natives are restless." Tsukushi laughed looking deep into her husband's eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." Tsukasa said pulling open his cell phone. "I don't plan to die again today."

"Not when you fought so hard to be on time for dinner." She paused and thought about what he said. "Eh…die again?"

_**A/N: Well that's it…please tell me how you feel. Was it what you expected? Did you think it was cheesy? I kinda think it's cheesy, but my husband and I are cheesy people, so it's all I know. Anyway, please review… if you have something that you think would make this better please let me know. I'm try to get better.**_


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